Accountability Partner
Updated: May 1, 2020
My wife and I were visiting a good friend of mine a couple weeks ago. My buddy is an artist with so much to bless the world with. In my opinion, he’s spent a lot of years fine-tuning his art; but now it’s time for the world to be blessed by it. Don’t worry, follow my social media pages and I’ll reveal who and his work of art in due season.
While at their home we talked about the need for accountability partners. An accountability partner is one who helps another achieve a set goal. How this is done varies from group to group, but the intent is to encourage and hold the intended party accountable to the goal that has been set, often by self. Permit me to share 5 important things about working with an accountability partner (AP).
1. Take personal responsibility for your actions. Your AP is not responsible for your actions. It is your dream, it is your vision, it is your baby, therefore the joy and pain of birthing it is yours.
2. Define and outline the goal. Both you and your AP need to be able to articulate the goal. For this to work, it is best you write out your goal and make it SMART: specific measurable achievable realistic and timely. The outline of your goals are the objectives to get you there, be specific.
3. Chose someone you trust. Trust is important in any relationship, but trust is most important when attempting to birth a dream. The Bible says not to be unequally yoked; for this reason I encourage you to find an accountability partner that’s God-fearing. A true God-fearing AP will guard your vision, pray about it, pray for you, and help you through the potential storms that may present itself along the way.
4. If necessary, have more than one AP. The truth is that everyone has a goal, dream and vision, for this reason your AP may not necessarily be available at points of need. To cite the example of my buddy: he called me one afternoon while at work for a pressing decision, I was unavailable and he made a similar call to another friend who was also unavailable. Chose a second AP wisely and let both AP’s complement each other.
5. Lastly, give back to your AP or to someone else as you’ve been blessed. The principles of life demand that you do unto others as you’ve had done to you. If someone is willing to spend sometime with you, sacrifice for you and bless you, then you should plan to do the same for another.
Certainly there are other things to note when relating with an AP, but I’m certain the five mentioned above could be a blessing to you. Choose wisely, press on with your goal, and live intentionally on purpose.
Best wishes,
L. B.